First Development of a 5.9GHz DSRC On-Vehicle Coverage Capability

On February 3, 2014, NHTSA initiated rulemaking to propose a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that would require vehicle-to-vehicle communication capability for light vehicles. The system would enable delivery of early warnings to drivers to avoid accidents, using radio signals at 5.9GHz that connect to other vehicles in proximity. Currently, there is no proven testing method for ensuring on-vehicle coverage for transmit and receive functions. Coverage at 5.9GHz may be limited due to blockage loss from curved roof surfaces, small antennas, the inclusion of cellular and other antennas with the DSRC antenna, antenna mounting location, and the presence of roof luggage. This paper discusses the development of a first-time DSRC on-vehicle measurement capability for TX radiated power & RX packet error rate around the vehicle.